Early Kendall County Jails

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the early jails of Kendall County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got more escapes, more rebuilds, and more fresh starts than you'd expect from one little stretch of Texas Hill Country. Kendall County was brand new in 1862, barely got its name on the map before the Civil War put a hard stop on any grand courthouse plans.

Financial strains, as the marker puts it, and that courthouse would just have to wait. It waited until 1869 before the court accepted a design by Phillip Zoeller, born in 1818, for a courthouse that would include an internal jail facility. The land came courtesy of John James and Gustav Theisen, the very founders of Boerne, who donated it for the cause.

Stonemason Johann Franz Stendebach, born in 1826, contributed to both the design and the construction of that first facility. And if you think that's where Stendebach's story ends, think again. That same year, 1869, he became sheriff of Kendall County, a position he held all the way until 1878.

The man helped build the jail and then ran it. You have to appreciate the commitment. For the next decade, Kendall County enjoyed real economic prosperity, drawing in more settlers, filling up the county with folks who needed courts and order and, yes, somewhere to put the troublemakers.

By the mid-1870s, the original facilities were straining under the weight of that growing population. So in 1876, county officials decided to build a stand-alone jail, designed once again by Zoeller, right there on the courthouse grounds. The commissioners court accepted a bid of two thousand three hundred and seventy-five dollars from Thomas F.

Cavanaugh and Co. While that building was going up, new sheriff John Reinhard and others did what you do in Kendall County when the jail isn't ready. They boarded the prisoners themselves.

The stand-alone jail was completed in late 1878. Now here's where the story takes a turn. Within just a few months, there was a jailbreak.

A jailbreak. The sheriff and others, once again, boarded prisoners while the structure was improved to prevent another escape. It opened again in late 1881, and for a couple of years things seemed to be moving along.

Then came 1883, and a man named Dr. Jacob West filed a report on the jail's unsanitary conditions. That report laid the groundwork, as the marker says, for calls to build something new.

The population kept growing, plans were passed, and the commissioners court accepted a bid from the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company for a new two-story jail right there on the courthouse grounds. The 1887 jail was built with more sophisticated designs and building materials than anything that had come before it. And that structure, the one finished in 1887, served as Kendall County's jail for ninety-nine years, right up until a new corrections facility was constructed in 1986.

Phillip Zoeller, Johann Franz Stendebach, a jailbreak, a doctor's complaint, and nearly a century of one stubborn building doing its job. That's Kendall County for you.

What the marker says

Due to financial strains caused by the Civil War, the newly created Kendall County (1862) paused plans to build a courthouse. In 1869, the court accepted a design by Phillip Zoeller (1818-1900) for a courthouse with internal jail facility to be built on land donated by Boerne founders, John James and Gustav Theisen. Stonemason Johann Franz Stendebach (1826-1890) contributed to both design and construction. In that same year, Stendebach also became sheriff, a position he held until 1878. For the next decade, Kendall County experienced economic prosperity, attracting more settlers. The larger population strained the existing court facilities by the mid-1870s, and county officials decided in 1876 to build a stand-alone jail, again designed by Zoeller, on the courthouse grounds. The commissioners court accepted a bid of $2,375 from Thomas F. Cavanaugh & Co. while the building was under construction, new sheriff John Reinhard and others boarded prisoners. The one-story stand-alone jail was completed in late 1878, but within a few months experienced a jailbreak. Once again, the sheriff and others boarded prisoners while the structure was improved to prevent another escape. The jail opened once more in late 1881. In 1883, Dr. Jacob West's report of the jail's unsanitary conditions laid the groundwork for calls to build a new facility. As Kendall County's population continued to grow, additional plans were passed to build a new structure, again on the courthouse grounds. The commissioners court accepted a bid from the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company for a new two-story jail. The 1887 jail utilized more sophisticated designs and building materials. Kendall County continued to utilize the 1887 structure as a jail for 99 years, until a new corrections facility was constructed in 1986. (2023)